TOW a long time after Part 2
by Daniela
Summary: A continuation of Tow a long time after Part . It's a C & M fanfic.


The One With A Long Time After   
Part 2  
  
  
Chapter 4:  
A Necessary Visit  
  
When he woke up again Monica wasn't there. Instead she was in the kitchen making breakfast.   
"I guess it's your time to wake up first" he said as he walked into the kitchen and sat down by the kitchen table.   
"Sorry that I kept you from sleeping well" Monica said as she took out some butter from the refrigerator.   
"It's ok, it was nice to finally have someone to stop you from doing something" Monica came to think about the videotape she had watched the day before and quickly turned away so that he wouldn't notice that she was blushing.   
Why the hell did you say that, the voice inside of him said but Chandler couldn't think of an answer so he shook it off.   
"Whatcha making?" he said instead and looked at Monica.   
"A sandwich"   
Chandler opened his mouth to say somethig but suddenly he came to think about what day it was and shut it again.   
This day was going to be long.   
As Monica turned around she could see what a miserable face expression Chandler had and suddenly she remembered why.   
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she said and looked at him.   
"No, but I really should" Chandler replied.   
Monica put the sandwich on a plate and brought it to the table.   
"Here" she said and put it down infront of him.   
"Aren't you gonna eat something?" he wondered.   
"I already ate" Monica lied.   
She hadn't been hungry so she had just made herself some cappucino.   
"Could I borrow some more clothes?" she wondered and looked at Chandler waiting for his responce.   
He just nodded as he stared out the window.   
Monica watched him for a while then she went up the stairs to get dressed. When she was gone Chandler sighed.   
To be honest he didn't want to visit Julia's grave at all. Althought he knew he should. He was just so afraid that he would break down. Seeing something, anything that reminded him of Julia hurt. Like it wasn't enough that he had to see her in his mind everyday now Monica was wearing Julia's clothes too.   
He knew that it wasn't Monica's fault but seeing her wearing something that belonged to his wife bothered him. And it wasn't exactly like he could refuse to lend her something to wear. Something else in his mind which he didn't want to think of also told him that in some strange way he almost liked Monica wearing those clothes and being in the house.   
For like the hundreth time in the last two days he found that he was defending himself from his own thoughts. Annoyed he got up and headed for his room.  
  
*****************  
  
Monica was sitting on the couch in the livingroom waiting for Chandler to get ready. She knew how long it could take him when he didn't want to go some-where. She was the same every monday getting ready to go to work. Work!   
She had completely forgotten about that. She quickly called the resturant and to her relief it was Jamie who answered.   
"Hello?"   
"Hello Jamie it's me"   
"Monica? Where have you been I've been trying to reach you for two days!"   
"I'm at Chandler's place"   
"WHAT!"   
Monica had to hold the phone from her ear not to risc getting deaf. "What are you doing there, from what I heard at the restaurant I thought you hated him" Monica couldn't help but smile at how shocked her friend was.   
"I know I acted like a freak it was just that I hadn't seen him in so long"   
"So what happened between you two, Marc said that he hasn't even looked at another woman since his wife died"   
"You see Chandler and I were best friends but then he got a transferr to Staten Island and we never heard from him again"   
"Why?"   
"I don't know, he said he was always thinking about it but never did and... you get the drill"   
"So I guess you're not comming to work today either"   
"Wow, mindreader, I gotta go bye"   
"Bye"   
Monica hung up then she remembered that she had to make another call.   
  
*****************  
  
Ross and Rachel were sitting at the kitchen table salving crossword puzzles when the phone rang.   
"Phoebe, the phones ringing!" Ross yelled as he was too into the crossword to answer.   
"PHOEBE!" he yelled as the phone rang again.   
But Phoebe didn't answer. Ross sighed and got up to get it.   
"Hello?" he said and went back to his seat just as Joey entered. "Oh hi Mon!" "Uhm I'm Joey" Joey said and looked sligthly insulted until he saw that Ross was talking on the phone.   
Suddenly Phoebe came out of her room looking thougthful, she had had a dream about Julia. In the dream Julia had been trying to tell her something without speaking. Those kinds of dreams were really exhausting especially since she hadn't been able to figure out what the message was.   
Then she saw Ross speaking on the phone.   
"Is it Monica?" she wondered and Rachel nodded.   
Also eager to hear the conversation she pressed the 'speaker' button and Monica's voice filled the apartment.   
"...anyway he said that he really would like to see you guys again"   
The group smiled slightly.   
"Should we be there at about 4 o'clock?"   
There was a long pause on the other line.   
"Mon?"   
Monica went on   
"But he doesn't think it would be good today"   
"Why not?" Joey wondered.   
Monica didn't really know if she was going to tell them the reason.   
"Uhm... because..."   
"Alright you know what forget it" Ross said and felt his anger build up. "First he doesn't want to see us today then not tomorrow, then not the day after that and the day after that and..."   
Sencing that Ross would probably go on for a very long time if someone didn't stop him Rachel jumped in.   
"I think Ross' point is that he will say anyday is fine but just not that day always"   
"You guys it's not like that..." Monica began.   
"Then what's it like" Joey wondered harshly.   
"It's just that today is..."   
"...not a good day we know" Ross said sarcastically.   
Monica was beginning to loose her temper.   
"If you guys would shut up and let me talk I could tell you that..."   
But she didn't get to finish speaking this time either.   
"Who does he think he is?!" Ross yelled, got up and started walking around the apartment. "He doesn't even get back to us about our wedding and now this" Suddenly Monica snapped.   
"Today isn't a good day since it's the anniversary of Julia's death and he's going to visit her grave for the first time since the funeral!!!"   
Now the whole apartment turned quiet.   
No one really knew what to say, suddenly they could hear Chandler's voice in the background.   
"Geeze Mon, I'm coming you don't have to yell"   
Monica quickly hung up the phone as she heard him coming down the stairs   
"Mon I really don't feel up to doing this, can't I just visit her grave in about... ten years or so?" Monica sighed, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out the door.  
  
*****************  
  
Chandler was standing by the gate to the semitary, he had wanted Monica to come with him but she had answered that this was something he should do alone. He took a deep breath, opened the gate and went in. Even though he hadn't been there for so long he almost immidiantly found it.   
It was arranged with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the left side of the grave stone. It was probably Julia's family who had put it there. Chandler sighed and looked at the grave, there she was. It all seemed so final.   
Here was the end of her life. Suddenly he realized that he had tears running down his face. He looked at the single white rose he had in his hand, he gently kneeled down and put it on her grave stone. Then he got up and just looked at it for a long time.  
  
*****************  
  
Julia watched him from a distance. He was finally dealing with it! If she was alive she could've given him a hug now she had to settle with the warm wind that she let sweep across his face drying some of his tears.   
She turned around and looked at Monica who was standing on the other side of the street waiting for him. It was thanks to her that Chandler had began to get his life together.   
Wanting to do something nice for her too she let another warm breeze heat her freezing hands. Then she just smiled and disappeared into the shadows.  
  
*****************  
  
When they got home Monica started to prepere a small lunch.   
"How are you feeling?" she asked.   
"Better since I don't have to be alone" Chandler replied and managed to give her a small smile.   
"What about that guy Marc?"   
"He's really cool and all but he's always on about how I should push past this and start living again"   
Monica wondered if Marc had seen the videotape with Julia too.   
"He says that Julia wouldn't want me to go around moping all the time, and I know he's right but... it's not that easy, you know?"   
Monica nodded understandably.   
"I know, everyone is on me about going out there and meeting some guy but it's not that simple, it's not like you just meet someone on the street and go 'Hi I'm Monica, would you want a relationship with me?', they don't seem to realize that it's far more complicated"   
Chandler moved closer to Monica.   
"And if you meet someone you wanna be sure that they'll always be there for you in every way they can"   
Monica also leaned closer.   
"And if it doesn't work out they'll have the guts to tell you instead of making up excuses"   
Chandler moved closer to Monica yet again.   
"It has to be someone who understands you and doesn't judge you on stupid things you've done in the past"   
Monica moved even closer to Chandler.   
"And that you'll be able to talk about everything from A - Z"   
They looked eachother for a while and slowly moved towards eachother to join in what would be a gentle kiss at first but then grow stronger...   
"RING!!!!"   
At the sound of the phone Monica and Chandler jumped apart. They both looked at the phone   
"Ok you get it" they said at the exact same time.   
They stood up and looked at eachother for a while then finally Monica picked up the phone and answered it.   
"Hello? Oh hi Phoebe"   
As Monica began talking to Phoebe Chandler made a quick run for it and went up the stairs. Monica was not really paying attention to her friend but was looking up the stairs after Chandler.  
  
*****************  
  
Julia let out a light sigh. She had come so close! Then that Phoebe girl had ruined everything. Oh well, she wasn't done yet. This had only been the first step, with a few more times she was sure that they would end up together. They were so perfect for eachother.  
  
*****************  
  
Phoebe felt a little confused when she hung up the phone after her conversation with Monica. She felt like there was something Monica had wanted to tell her but hadn't. She didn't have the time to think about it when Ross, Rachel, Joey and Mandy entered.   
"Hey Phoebs look what we got" Rachel said and opened the bag she was carrying. It contained a small, blue, silk pillow. "What do you think? It's for the baby's crysth"   
"It's adorable" Phoebe said but the others noticed that she wasn't really paying attention.   
"What's wrong, Phoebs?" Joey wondered and sat down next to her on the couch. "It's Monica" Phoebe said "She sounded so weird on the phone"   
"She has a lot on her mind what with meeting Chandler again" Joey thought.   
"So you talked to her, was she really mad at us?" Ross wondered.   
"More dissapointed, but she said that we could all come out there tomorrow. But she warned us not to make too much fun of Chandler and not to yell at him a lot" "What is he a hamster?"   
"Well according to her he has changed a lot, she says he's much more suttled and mature"   
"Yeah right!" Joey said and began to laugh but stopped when he noticed the others looking at him. "What?"  
  
  
Chapter 5:  
A Fight That Ends With Pooh Sticks   
  
Monica had tried to avoid Chandler as much as possible. When she had gotten of the phone with Phoebe she had noticed that he had gone straight to bed. She on the other hand sat down on the couch looking thoughtful, she wondered what would've happened if the phone hadn't rang. Would they have continiued? She didn't know but to be honest she had hoped that they would have. Then she realized what she was doing. She was falling for him. How is that possible, she wondered, he's my friend. Come on this is Chandler, goofy Chandler. But it didn't feel right saying that since he wasn't goofy anymore, he was a grown-up.   
And she noticed that she really had come to enjoy the mature side of him. Maybe a litte too much. Exhausted from all her thoughts she fell asleep on the couch for the second time in two days.  
  
*****************  
  
Chandler was sitting in his office trying to concentrate on his report but his mind wondered off into the blue. How could he have kissed her?   
It was Monica, over compulsive Monica. She was the woman that had been his best friend for years and taught him almost everything he knew about relationships. As he sat there staring into space Marc entered.   
"Hi man!" he said and looked at Chandler's lack of absence. "Are you ok?" Chandler quickly tried to cover.   
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"   
"I just thought what with the anniversary of Julia's death yesterday..." he trailed of as he looked at Chandler.   
There was something else about him, he seemed confused yet relieved. That was a strange combination.   
"So... what did you do yesterday?" he wondered as he sat down in a chair and looked at him couriously.   
"I went to visit Julia's grave"   
Marc just stared at him. He would've expected Chandler to say a lot of things but that was not one of them.   
"You what?" that was all he could get out.   
"I realized that it was time... plus Monica said she would get me there even if she had to dragg me, which she did"   
Marc couldn't help but smile.   
"Finally someone did that, I would've done it too if I have had the time"   
The look he got from Chandler made him think that something happened that he hadn't told him about.   
"Did anything else happen, you look really thoughtful?"   
Chandler sighed, it was almost impossible to hold anything from Marc, he knew him to well.   
"Monica and I kissed last night"   
Marc froze and just sat there for several seconds staring at him, then a smile slowly grew from his mouth.   
"Way to go man!"   
Chandler just looked at him.   
"What?"  
"I've been waiting two years for this!" Marc said and got up from his chair. "You've waited for what?"   
"What do you think? For you to meet someone, of course!"   
Chandler sighed yet again.  
"Look I haven't met someone, we were just talking about what we wanted out of relationships and all of a sudden we were kissing, it wasn't something we planned!"   
"That's the beauty of it, you don't plan these things they're supposed to just happen!" Marc said. "What did you do after you kissed?"   
"Well the phone rang, she answered it, I went upstairs and went to bed, and when I left this morning I found her sleeping on the couch"   
"Who called you?"   
"My old friends they're comming out to see me today" he looked at his watch. "Actually they should be here by now"   
"Then what are you doing at work?" Marc wondered. "Go home!"   
"Nah I couldn't get off today, I'll still see them this afternoon"  
  
*****************  
  
Monica was running around making last minute adjustments in the house impatiently waiting for the others to arrive. When she had woken up she noticed that the place was empty. In the kitchen she had found a note from Chandler saying that he had to work but would be back around four o'clock.   
Suddenly the doorbell rang, Monica got so surprised that she almost dropped the vase she was dusting. She put it down and hurried to the door. It was them. She took a deep breath and opened the door.   
"Hi guys" she said and made her best effort to produce a believable smile.   
"Come on in"   
She stepped aside and the others entered and looked around.   
"Wow this is quite a place he's got here" Rachel said as she looked around. "Yeah, Julia decorated it" Monica said and noticed that the others became a little embarrased.   
"Look Monica, we're sorry we yelled at you and stuff" Ross said and looked down. "It's ok, I know you didn't mean it"   
Suddenly Phoebe noticed something.   
"Mon, where did you get those clothes?"   
Monica looked down at what she was wearing and now she felt a little embarrased.   
"It's some of Julia's stuff, I didn't have anything else than the dress I had when I went on the blind date"   
"Chandler let you wear her clothes?"   
"Well, let and let, I put them on when he was at work and he couldn't exactly force me to take them off"   
Joey looked around.   
"Where is he anyway?"   
"He's at work now but he'll probably be here in a few hours"   
Monica said and looked at her watch.   
Phoebe thought it looked like she was relieved that Chandler wasn't here, but knowing Monica would tell her in her own time she decided not to pressure her. "Would you guys like to sit down?" Monica wondered and tried to break the silence.   
The others nodded and Monica led them towards the livingroom.   
"Actually Mon, I really need to use the bathroom" Joey said.   
"Ok you go up the stairs then to the left"   
Joey nodded and disappeared to the second floor.   
Monica sat down in the chair and Ross helped Rachel sit down on the couch next to Phoebe.   
"Ross I'm not disabled" Rachel said and looked at her husband with a slightly annoyed look.   
"I know you're not, I just want to make things easier for you" Ross said and looked a thad hurt.   
"You wanna help? Ok then stop thinking that I'm not capable of doing anything!" Phoebe sighed.   
"You guys, stop it! Ross leave Rachel alone and Rachel he's just being Ross!"   
Ross and Rachel looked at her for a while then they turned and looked at eachother.   
"I'm sorry" Ross said softly.   
"I'm sorry too" Rachel said and they shared a long kiss.   
Monica rolled her eyes.   
"You guys are so happy it's sickening!"   
The others looked a little surprised at her.   
It wasn't so much about what she had said it was the way she had said it, not muchy and tearfully but sarcastically.   
"You've been around Chandler for too long" Rachel said and looked at Monica. "Trust me being around Chandler has not made me sarcastic more likely depressed"   
"Why?"   
"You should see the way he is now, all he thinks about is Julia"   
"How do you know?"   
"You can see it in his eyes"   
Phoebe looked around and saw the picture of the gang laying on the desk beneeth the window.   
"Look at this" she said and showed it to the others. "I remember when that was taken, it was the day when Chandler told us about his transferr"   
They just sat silently and looked at it for a while then Joey came down the stairs holding a videotape.   
"Hey, Mon, what's on this tape?"  
Monica looked up at him.   
"Where did you get that?"   
"It was in one of those old boxes in the closet"   
"What were you doing in Chandler's closet?"   
Joey just looked at her for a while then he turned to the others.   
"Let's see what's on it!"   
The others nodded and Joey went up to the VCR to put it in.   
"Wait a minute, we can't do this" Monica said and looked at the others. "It's not right"   
"We just wanna see what he has been up to lately, in case he doesn't tell us" Ross said and tried to look innocent.   
Monica sighed and sunk back into her chair. Joey popped the tape in and went to sit in the chair next to Monica. The tape started and they saw Julia swimming in a pool and Chandler lying in the shadows reading. Julia popped her head up from the pool.   
"Chandler come on, the water's great!"   
"No, water bad, dry good" Chandler said not looking up from his book.   
Julia sighed but left him alone. Then there was a cut to a bit later, Julia was now out of the pool and Chandler had fallen asleep. Julia came infront of the camera and put her finger on her mouth.   
"Ok, if Chandler wont come to the water then the water will come to him" she whispered and smiled evily at the camera.   
She grabbed a hose and started sneaking towards him, then she amed it at him and turned on the water. A cold stream of water hit Chandler and harshly interrupted his sleep. He jumped up with a scream whilst Julia laughed.   
When he saw it was her he smiled and pointed to her.   
"You... are so gonna get it!"   
He started chasing her around the yard, finally he got a hold of her, picked her up in his arms and gave her a long kiss. Julia didn't notice that he was carrying her towards the pool.   
"So you're not mad at me?" she wondered after they had finished their kiss. "No... what's the point in getting mad... when you can get even?" he wondered and dropped her in the pool.   
Then he ran up to the camera.   
"Marc I really hope you got that!" he laughed when he looked at Julia climbing out of the pool, soaking wet.   
"Man, am I in trouble!" he said as he watched her coming towards him.   
Julia tried to look furious but couldn't help the smile that grew from her mouth. "You know, if I didn't love you, you would be dead by now" she said and walked up to him.   
He smiled misheviously.   
"Then I should be on the safe side"   
They gave eachother a long kiss and in the background you could hear Marc sigh. "Come on! You guys are so happy it's sickening!"   
Chandler and Julia didn't listen to him instead they continiued kissing, then Marc turned the camera off and the screen went black.   
The gang just sat there looking at the blanc screen oblivious to the fact that Chandler stood behind them and had seen the whole thing.   
"Man, he had it bad!" Joey said shocked.   
"Are you sure that was Chandler and not just a stand-in guy?" Ross wondered and shook his head in doubt.   
"Think of how hard her death must've been on him" Rachel said and looked at Ross trying to imagine what she would feel like if he would die.   
Monica nodded.   
"That's what I've been trying to tell you guys, not to joke around too much" They looked at Monica and nodded.   
Meanwhile Chandler was still standing right behind them not being noticed.   
Not really knowing whether to make his presence public or sneak out he just stayed put. He wondered how they had gotten that tape, Joey had probably found it on one of his usual closet searchthroughs.   
At first he got mad because they had watched it without his permission but then he thought about how he hadn't kept in contact with them and maybe this, in some way, was like a really bizarr punishment. Finally making up his mind he quietly disappeared from the room and pretended to have just arrived.  
  
*****************  
  
Phoebe, Rachel and Monica were walking in the city park not speaking. Phoebe and Rachel would have wanted to spend some more time with Chandler but almost as soon as he had gotten there Monica had suggested that the girls should go for a walk. Rachel was beginning to get tired, she couldn't strain herself too much these days and now her limit was almost reached.   
"Can't we sit down for a while?" she wondered as she spotted a parkbench nearby.   
"Of course, sweetie, are you tired?" Monica said and looked worriedly at Rachel. They all went and sat down on the bench.   
"Mon, can I ask you something?" Phoebe wondered and looked at her.   
Monica nodded.   
"What's wrong with you?"   
The question startled Monica and made her loose touch.   
"What do you mean?" she finally got out and looked at Phoebe with the most innocent look she could produce. But Phoebe didn't buy it.   
"Mon, first you sound really weird on the phone then when Chandler got home you practically dragged us out of the house, what's going on?"   
Monica sighed there was no use in hiding anything from Phoebe.   
"Ok, after we went to visit Julia's grave we sat down and started talking about how hard relationships can be, then we started getting closer and closer and... we kissed"   
Phoebe and Rachel gasped while Monica put her head in her hands.   
"You what!?" Rachel said and stared at Monica.   
"I know, I know, I'm such an idiot! I don't even know why we did it!" Monica sighed and looked up with a slight smile on her face, when she saw that Phoebe noticed her smile she quickly stopped.   
"You wanted to kiss him" Phoebe said triumphly.   
"No I didn't" Monica lied.   
"Yes you did you can see it in your eyes" Rachel said and smiled.   
Monica felt that her guards were falling down.   
"Ok, fine, it was great but..."   
"But...?" Phoebe continiued.   
"We didn't get a chance to talk about it, because just when we were getting in to it, you called"   
"Oh so that's why you were so distant!" Phoebe said relieved now that she knew why her friend had been so absent.   
"What happened after you had got off the phone?" Rachel wondered and leaned towards Monica.   
"Nothing, he had gone to bed and I fell asleep on the couch"   
Phoebe and Rachel looked at eachother and smiled slightly.   
"So are you gonna confront him about it?" Rachel questioned and looked curious. "That's just it, I would've confronted him right away if it hadn't been for..." she trailed off but Phoebe and Rachel still knew what she meant, if it hadn't been for Julia.   
"But don't you think he's ready to move on, I mean it's been two years hasn't it?" Phoebe said and once again came to think about the dream she had had about Julia.   
"You haven't spent the last two days with him, if he sees the slightest thing that reminds him of Julia in any way his mind runs away from reality. He really, really loved her you guys and I don't think I can compete with that"  
  
*****************  
  
Chandler, Joey and Ross were sitting on the couch watching a football game. Neither of them were talking but Chandler knew that they probably were thinking of what Monica had said to them about him when she didn't know he was there. Chandler decided to break the silence.   
"Look you guys I just wanna apologize for not picking up contact with you, it was just that there was the thing, then there was the thing after the thing, and so on and so on and so on"   
"It's ok" Ross and Joey said but Chandler knew they didn't mean it.   
"No, it's not ok" he continiued and wished that he had somewhere to go from there. "No it's not ok" he repeated because he realized that nothing he said could make up for five years of neglect. "I know I can't change the past but I'm still sorry" he ended and looked at Ross and Joey for some kind of responce. Joey finally gave up being mad and smiled lightly at him but Ross didn't say anything.   
"Ross, look I know you're mad because I didn't come to your wedding but I had two very good reasons"   
Ross looked at him.   
"Oh yeah?!" he said angrily.   
"Yes, first of all I wasn't in town. Second of all my secratery didn't give me the message"   
Ross snorted.   
"And you seriously expect me to believe that?"   
Chandler sighed, he knew that Ross could really hold a grudge but this was silly. "Do you really think I would miss my best friend getting married? I just had more important things to do"   
The last sentence made Ross snap, he turned to Chandler.   
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"   
Chandler just looked blancly at him.   
"You really have got some nerve, first we don't hear from you for five years, you don't show up at my wedding and that because you had more important things to do?! That is such bull shit! What could possibly more important to you than my wedding!?"   
"My honeymoon!!!" Chandler blurted out.   
Ross totally lost his anger but Chandler's had began to build up.   
"That's right I didn't come to your wedding because I was busy celebrating my own, if I'd known how things would've turned out maybe I shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it!!"   
Chandler looked furious but his voice cracked.   
Without a word he got up and slammed the door. On his way out he ran into the girls who where just returning from their walk when they saw him walking down the driveway. Monica regocognised the look Chandler had in his eyes, it was the same look he had had when she had yelled at him in the resturant. Monica grabbed his arm.   
"Chandler what's wrong?"   
Chandler shook himself out of her grip.   
"Just don't!"   
Then he continiued walking.  
  
*****************  
  
Monica was walking back and forth which made the others really nervous.   
"How could you do that Ross!?" she yelled and stopped walking for a bit to stand infront of him.   
"How was I supposed to know it was his honeymoon?" Ross defended himself.   
"I told you not to get mad at him, could you have done that, no!!"   
Ross didn't understand why Monica was so upset, he looked over at Rachel for some symphaty but he didn't get any. Actually no one in the room showed any symphaty for him.   
He sighed again.   
"Look Mon I already said I was sorry, what more do you want from me?"   
Monica, who had begun walking again, turned around.   
"I want you to apologize to Chandler when he gets back!"   
She looked at her watch.   
"Where is he?"   
"Maybe he went out for a hot dog?" Joey suggested.   
"It was a retorical question!" Joey looked confused.   
"Reto- what?"   
Monica sighed.   
"It meant I didn't expect an answer"   
Phoebe was worried and happy at the same time. She had always known that Chandler had a thing for Monica at one point but since she hadn't been interested at the time he had settled for being her best friend. Now Monica finally had began to feel something for him too but the only obsticle was Julia. She had obviously been his soulmate, and the question was if he could ever get over her. Phoebe looked over at Rachel and Ross and remembered when she had called them lobsters a few of years ago. Now she began to wonder if there would be another lobster couple in the group. Once again she tried to figure out what it was Julia had wanted to tell her in her dream but it was useless. Instead she went up to Monica and put her arm around her.   
"Ok sweetie calm down" she said and, to everyone's relief, pulled her down in a chair.   
"I can't be calm, he has been gone for over two hours" Monica complained and leaned against Phoebe's shoulder.   
"Where could he be?"   
"Ok Monica think, you've known Chandler the longest..."   
Ross cleared his throat.   
"Exuse me but actually I've known Chandler the longest"   
Phoebe gave him a eminent look.   
"I meant known the new Chandler the longest" she explained and turned to Monica.  
"Now think, where could he have gone"   
Monica thought for a while then she quickly stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be right back!" she yelled over her shoulder before she dissapeared out the door.   
Ross looked after her.   
"Why does she always storm out, what happened to the fine art of walking outside?"   
Rachel gave him a look.   
  
*****************  
  
Monica looked at the lone figure that was standing on the bridge looking out over the sea. It was Chandler all right. She hesitated a bit but then she went out on the bridge to join him. Oblivious to the fact that she was there Chandler was staring out at the horizon. It seemed so close yet so far away. Many things in his life were like that right now. The sun came out of the clouds and forced him to avert his eyes, instead he looked at the water floating by beneeth him. All of a sudden he came to think about something and chuckled quietly to himself.   
"What's so funny?"   
He turned around and looked right into Monica's quirious eyes.   
"I was just thinking about 'pooh sticks' from 'Winnie the Pooh'" he explained and smiled a little embarrest. "They would throw one stick each in the water, see which one came first from under the bridge and they would..."   
"...keep doing that for hours" Monica filled in and smiled. "I also loved 'Winnie the Pooh', especially Piglet"   
Chandler looked at her with a surprised look.   
"Piglet?" he said questionly. "I would have picked you for more of an Owl myself" Monica giggled and hit him on the arm.   
"Hey don't judge"   
She went up next to him and looked down at the water beneeth them.   
"Which one was your favourite?" she asked.   
Chandler thought for a moment.   
"Eyeore" he said after a while "Definitely Eyeore"   
"Why?"   
"He never took anything for granted, and if he ever got something he wanted he always knew that there would be a downside to it even if he didn't realize it right away. He didn't expect anything to happen to him that he couldn't handle and it didn't"   
Monica continiued staring at the water.   
"You forget that he didn't get anything either" she said not willing to look him in the eyes, she had a feeling that the conversation was more turning into their own lifes.   
"Why did you choose Piglet?" Chandler wondered, he too looked down at the water.   
"He is scared of so many things that, after you experience them, you don't have to fear anymore. He's not exactly rationell but he always look at the upsides and downsides before he does something he might regret"   
They both looked at the water for a bit then Chandler started walking towards the other end of the bridge. Monica didn't know if she should follow him or wait for him but before she got a chance to decide he had returned. In his hands he was holding a few sticks. He handed half of them to Monica and went up to the left side of the bridge.   
"What are you doing?" Monica wondered and got up next to him.   
"I always wanted to know what it was like, playing 'pooh sticks' but I've never found someone who knew what it was" Chandler explained and held up a stick over the reil of the bridge.   
Monica laughed as she too held up one of her sticks.   
They counted to three and dropped them in the water. Then they ran over to the other side of the bridge to see which one would come first.   
"There they are!" Monica yelled as she spotted the two sticks appearing from under-neeth the bridge. "The long one is in the lead and... it wins!"   
Chandler and Monica looked at eachother for a while.   
"Which one of us had the long stick?" Chandler wondered.   
They both went silent, then they began to laugh when they realized they didn't know which one of them who had won. They continiued playing untill all of the sticks were gone. Then they went over to the docks and sat down on a harbour with their feet over the edge. They didn't say anything for a while but suddenly Chandler turned to Monica.   
"How did you know where I was?"   
Monica looked at him.   
"I just remembered that you said that when you were troubled you liked to go and watch the water" she said and stared out at the horizon.   
The sun was beginning to set and suddenly Monica remembered something.   
"Oh my god, what time is it?"   
Chandler looked at his watch.   
"Ten o'clock, why?" Monica looked panicked, and abrubtly stood up.   
"I promised the guys that I would be back, with you of course, in an hour" Chandler shrugged.   
"One hour, four what's the differens?"   
His attempt to make a joke only seemed able to make Monica more stressed. "Come on we've gotta go!" she said and pulled him up on his feet.   
Chandler sighed.   
"Mon do we have to go back now? The sunset is coming in a bit and I haven't seen it in ages"   
Monica turned around and looked at him surprised.   
"But the others..." she began but Chandler interruppted her.   
"We'll just call them and tell them that we're here"   
"Where do they keep phones around here?" Monica wondered and started to look around.   
"Here" Chandler said, opened his pocket and took out his cell phone.   
Monica gave out a loud groan.   
"You've had that thing all along?!" her voice was strict but her eyes were smiling. She took the cell phone from him and started to dial.  
  
*****************  
  
Meanwhile the others were beginning to get worried. They figured that either one of two things had happened. Monica had either found Chandler or she was still searching. Phoebe was sitting watching TV, Joey was as usual snooping through Chandler's stuff, despite the others protests. Rachel was asleep in the chair and Ross was doing one of his numerous cross word puzzles.   
Suddenly the phone rang and Ross went to answer it.   
"Hello?" he said as he picked up the phone. "Mon, where the hell... Yes... What!? You can't... We can? Ok, I see. Uhu. Bye"   
Phoebe looked at him.   
"What did she say?"   
Ross came back out in the livingroom looking really confused.   
"She said that they lost track of time because they were playing 'pooh sticks'" "What's 'pooh sticks'?" Phoebe wondered but Ross just shrugged.   
Suddenly Rachel began to stretch and slowly opened her eyes.   
"Where am I?" she asked as she looked around.   
"You're at Chandler's place" Ross said walking up to her and kissed her cheek. "Good evening sleepy head"   
Rachel looked startled.   
"Evening?" she repeated.   
"How long was I asleep?"  
Ross checked his watch.   
"Three hours, more or less"   
Rachel began to rise with the help of Ross   
"Man was I tired. Where's Chandler and Monica?"   
"Monica just called to inform us that she and Chandler would be back around midnight" Ross replied sarcastically.   
"No seriously" Rachel said as she moved towards the kitchen to get something to drink.   
"I am being serious"   
Rachel turned around.   
"What on earth are those two doing?"   
Ross sighed.   
"Apperantly they're going to watch the sun set"   
Phoebe stared at him.   
"What?"   
Ross nodded.   
"That's what I said"   
Phoebe shook her head.   
"That's..." she trailed of as she remembered something.   
Her dream. In her dream Julia had shown her a yellow ball bouncing up and down, now, finally Phoebe understood what the ball represented. Sunset and sunrise. More than that she didn't get, but she was glad that something in her dream had become clear. Then she realized that Ross was waiting for her to finish her sentence.   
"So... are we gonna go home then?" she wondered.   
"No Monica said that we could stay, she still wants me to apologize to Chandler" Ross said and rolled his eyes.   
"Then maybe we should look for some place to sleep" Phoebe suggested.   
"I am not sleeping on the floor!" Rachel said hurriedly and turned towards them. "If I got that low I wouldn't be able to stand up again"   
Ross and Phoebe chuckled a little but stopped when they saw that Rachel was dead serious.   
"Ok you two could take Chandler's bed, I'll take the guest room and Joey can sleep on the couch" Phoebe suggested.   
The others nodded and went up the stairs. They hadn't had to worry about where Joey would sleep because when they got to the second floor they found him asleep on the floor in the guest room.   
  
  
Chapter 6:  
Watching The Sunset  
  
Chandler and Monica were sitting on a small bench on a mountain near the sea. Except from a few seaguls no one was there but them. Chandler had had to convince Monica several times that it was safe before she climbed after him up the rocky area to the top of the mountain. He had assured her that it would be worth the trouble and he had been right. The view from the mountain was stunning. The sea just lied there, still and chrystal clear with only gentle breezes that caused the small ilands nearby to get light waves of foam up on the sand beaches. The sun looked warm as it coloured the sky pink and orange. Suddenly Monica spotted something.   
"Look over there!" she shrieked and pointed to one of the ilands on the left. "Seals!"   
Chandler looked where she pointed and a sad smile grew on his face.   
"They always come here this time of year" he said.  
He continiued to look at them not noticing Monica looking at him. He hadn't said it but Monica knew something about the seals reminded him of Julia. She decided to ignore it and focus on the present. Apperantly so did Chandler because he stopped looking at the seals and got up from the bench.   
"Come on" he said and started walking.   
"But... the mountain ends here" Monica protested, she had never been fond of heigths.   
"No, it doesn't end it just goes further down" Chandler corrected her and turned around. "Now come"   
Monica slowly started walking towards him constantly looking at her every step. When she got up next to Chandler she was almost at the edge. Her eyes started to walk towards the steep. It was several yards to the ground. Well it wasn't so much ground as it was spiky rocks covered by the cold water. Chandler noticed this and quickly turned her face up so that their eyes meet.   
"What ever you do, don't look down" he warned her.   
Monica got a sneaking suspicioun that the madness didn't end there, and she was right. Chandler began to climb down the mountain to a small ledge a few feeth beneeth them. Monica was beginning to panic.   
"Chandler what are you doing? Are you crazy?!"   
By now Chandler had reached the ledge and looked up at her.   
"Ok now it's your turn"   
Monica just looked at him blancly.   
"Come on"   
"Please be kidding" Monica begged but the look on Chandler's face told her that he wasn't.   
"Are you trying to get me killed?" she wondered. "There is no where in hell I am coming down there!"   
Chandler sighed.   
"Oh, are you a loser?" he said teasingly.   
Monica frowned, she hated when people called her a loser and Chandler knew that. But not even her competativeness could get her to ignore her fear of heights.   
"No, I'm not a loser, I just don't feel like it" Monica said and tried to remain calm as she looked down at him.   
"Oh come on, what ever happened to the Monica I knew, the Monica that never chickened out of a challange?" Chandler wondered.   
"And what happened to the Chandler I knew that always thought that sunsets and mountain climbing was ridicoulus?" Monica wondered.   
"I've changed!" Chandler said.   
"So have I" Monica replied.   
Chandler sighed yet again, he hadn't known getting Monica down there would be such a hard thing. Then suddenly he came to think of something.   
"You have to come down here!" he yelled.   
"Why?" Monica wondered and, against her own will, looked curious.   
"Because you need me to get down and I wont come up before you get down here"   
Monica quietly cursed to herself. She knew that Chandler was right. There was no way that she could get off this mountain by herself. With a devilish look at Chandler she slowly started to climb down.   
"This better be worth it" she told him through grittenth teeth as she took the final step and jumped the last bit. When she turned around she saw the most beautiful view she had ever seen in her life. Up on the mountain the fog had blocked some of the view but down here they were low enough to avoid the fog and still high enough to see the horizon.   
"Oh my god" was all she could get out. "It's so beautiful!"   
Chandler smiled.   
"I told you"   
Monica looked at him.   
"I hate it when you're right"  
  
*****************  
  
"Hello?"   
Monica slowly opened her eyes at the sound of someone's voice.   
"Hello?" the voice repeated.   
Monica slowly sat up and looked around. Where was she? She looked over at her side and saw Chandler lying there sleeping.   
"Yes?" she answered the voice that had spoken.   
"Are you alright down there?" the voice wondered.   
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, I must've fallen asleep" Monica replied and stretched her arms.   
Last night had not been her most comfertable sleeping period. She and Chandler had watched the sun set. The last thing she remembered was leaning against Chandler's shoulder and closing her eyes.   
"What are you doing down there all by yourself?" the voice wondered.   
Monica looked up and tried to identify the person above her but her eyes weren't used to the bright morning light yet.   
"First of all I'm not alone and we were watching the sun set" Monica said and looked over at Chandler.  
The fact that he hadn't woken up yet surprised her. When she knew him, he had been a really light sleeper. He was just as cute now as he had been when she had watched him sleep on her couch after his frightening roommate Eddie had scared him away. Monica almost thought it was a shame to wake him up, he looked so peaceful but she knew she had to.   
"Chandler" she whispered and lightly shook him. "Wake up"   
Chandler moaned and kept his eyes closed.   
"Chandler, are you awake?" Monica wondered and shook him a little harder. Chandler slowly opened his eyes and looked at Monica, then he abruptly sat up. "Where am I?" he said and looked around.   
"We fell asleep watching the sun set" Monica explained as she could hear the voice above them.   
"Do you guys need help up?" Monica was about to say yes but Chandler interruppted her.   
"We'll be alright"   
"Ok, but be carefull" the voice warned them and they could hear footsteps dying out.   
Monica turned to Chandler.   
"What was that for? We need help getting up again"   
Chandler smiled slightly at Monica's rage.   
"No, we don't. Come along" he got up and started walking towards a big rock. "Where are we going now?" Monica wondered and sighed.   
Chandler just gestured her to come to him. Monica got up, brushed of the worst cases of moss and dirt and went up to him.   
"Ok now what do we do?" she wondered.   
Without a word Chandler took her hand and lead her behind the rock. As he did so she found that behind the rock there was a small tunnel, her gripp around Chandler's hand tightened as he went first through the small opening. Monica couldn't see anything and relied on that Chandler knew where they were going. After what had felt like an etarnity she finally saw a small string of light hit the ground infront of them and a few seconds later they were out on the other side of the mountain. First Monica looked relieved then she slapped Chandler on the arm.   
"Ow!"   
"Why didn't we just take this way up? I risced my life for nothing!?"   
Monica was really annoyed and it didn't really get better by Chandler having a huge giggle attack.   
"What is so funny?"   
Chandler pointed to her hair. As she felt it she found that it was standing out in all directions. She quickly drew through it a couple of times with her fingers.   
"If you think I look funny just look at you" Monica said after she had made sure her hair was in somewhat of an order.   
Chandler felt his hair too and realized that it was in as miserable condition as Monica's had been. He desperatly tried to even it out without any result. Monica sighed but couldn't help the laughter that built up inside of her. Chandler gave her an annoyed look.   
"This is not easy you know"   
Monica smiled slightly.   
"Come on!" she said, took his hand and dragged him towards the ocean. "Here, let me fix it"   
She wet her hands with the water and began to drag them through his hair. First she stood behind him but then she moved infront of him. As she made sure that it looked good, hers and Chandler's eyes met for a long gaze.   
"Ok it looks fine now" she said and Chandler nodded distracted. They moved closer but suddenly Chandler snapped out of it.   
"The others are probably wondering what have happened to us" he said and started walking.   
Monica just stood there looking after him for a while then she slowly shook her head and followed him. Neither of them noticed the person standing on the mountain looking at them, the person offering them help watched them as they walked away.   
  
TO BE CONTINIUED  
  
  



End file.
